TITLE 29

State Government

Public Officers and Employees

CHAPTER 59. MERIT SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION

Subchapter V. Miscellaneous

§ 5950 Employee recognition.

(a) It shall be part of the function of state agencies to conduct employee recognition programs for Merit System employees and employees in positions that are assigned comparable Merit System classes or pay grades. All such employee recognition programs shall be approved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget prior to implementation.

(b) The first full week in May shall be designated Public Service Recognition Week. Employee recognition programs shall not, however, be confined to this week.

Subject to approval of the Board, which shall take into account the primary responsibility of the Director towards the classified service, the Director may enter into agreements with any agency excluded from this chapter, or with any municipality or other political subdivision of this State to furnish services and facilities of the Board to such agency, municipality or political subdivision in the administration of its personnel according to merit principles. Any such agreement shall provide for the reimbursement to the State of the reasonable cost of the services and facilities furnished, as determined by the Director. All excluded agencies and all municipalities and political subdivisions of the State are authorized to enter into such agreements.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Board and each officer and employee of this State are authorized and directed to take such action with respect to matters involving personnel as may be necessary to insure the continued eligibility of this State for grants-in-aid under any federal law or program.

No person shall be appointed or promoted to, or demoted or dismissed from, any position in the classified service, or be in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to employment in the classified service because of political or religious opinions or affiliations, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex or race.

(a) No person shall use or promise to use, directly or indirectly, any official authority or influence, whether possessed or anticipated, to secure or attempt to secure for any person an appointment or advantage in appointment to a position in the classified service, or an increase in pay or other advantage in employment in any such position, for the purpose of influencing the vote or political action of any person, or for any consideration.

(b) No employee in the classified service shall engage in any political activity or solicit any political contribution, assessment or subscription during the employee's hours of employment or while engaged in the business of the State.

(c) No person shall induce, directly or indirectly, any employee in the classified service to make a contribution, assessment or subscription to a political party under the representation, actual or implied, that such assessment, subscription or contribution will have any effect on the employee's employment with the State.

(d) Any officer or employee in the classified service who violates any of the provisions of this section shall forfeit such office or position, and for 1 year shall be ineligible for any office or position in the state service.

Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, Chapter 2 of Title 29 of the United States Code, shall supersede state law relating to state personnel practices and shall supersede the rules adopted by the Merit Employee Relations Board pursuant to this chapter, but only to the extent such state law or merit rules are in conflict with the Fair Labor Standards Act [29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.]. This supersession of state law and the merit system rules shall continue in effect only so long as, and only to the extent that, the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act [29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.], by their own terms or by judicial interpretation, are deemed to apply to state government personnel practices. To the extent necessary for state compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall have the authority to implement this section, including, but not limited to, the authority to determine where conflicts exist between state law or merit rules and the federal act, and to resolve such conflicts by appropriate rulings and regulations.

(a) An officer or employee of this State, with the approval of his or her immediate supervisor or the Director of the Division in which he or she is employed, may donate accrued sick leave and annual leave in equal amounts to a Leave Bank established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for all officers or employees of this State or to another officer or employee of this State.

(b) A person wishing to donate leave time under this section may request the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to debit the donor's sick leave and annual leave accounts.

(c) Sick leave and annual leave accrued in the Leave Bank or directly donated to an employee may be used by a recipient only for a catastrophic illness of the recipient or of a family member of the recipient. For purposes of this section, the term "catastrophic illness" means an illness or injury to an employee or to a member of an employee's family which is diagnosed by a physician and certified by the physician as rendering the employee or a member of the employee's family unable to work, or in the case of a family member who does not work, the medical equivalent of "unable to work," for a period greater than 5 calendar weeks. Separate periods of disability lasting 7 calendar days or more each, resulting from the same or a related medical condition and occurring within any 12-consecutive-month period, shall be considered the same period of disability. For purposes of this section, "family member" or "member of an employee's family" means an employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent who resides with the employee and who requires the personal attendance of the employee during the family member's catastrophic illness.

(d) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall convert the donated leave into cash value at the donor's rate of pay, shall re-convert the cash value to hours of leave at the recipient's rate of pay, and shall then credit the recipient's account.

(e) Before receiving donated leave time under this section, the recipient of the leave time shall:

(1) Have been an officer or employee of this State for at least 6 months before he or she is eligible for donated leave time;

(2) Have used all of his or her sick days and half of his or her annual leave; however, when the donated leave time is for the catastrophic illness of a family member, the employee must have used all of his or her sick days and annual leave; and

(3) Have established medical justification for such receipt, which must be renewed every 30 days.

(f) An employee who is covered by a collective bargaining agreement may donate leave to, or receive donations of leave from, an employee or officer who is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

(g) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall have the authority to carry out the mandates of this section.

(h) The agency employing the recipient of a grant of donated leave shall pay all cost of the use of that donated leave. No funds shall be attached to any hours of donated leave.

(i) The State's liability under this program shall not exceed the number of hours donated by employees.

(j) The provisions of this section related to a direct donation of hours from one officer or employee of this State to another officer or employee shall become effective February 2, 1996. The provisions of this section related to donation of hours to the Leave Bank shall become effective upon the establishment of the Bank or May 2, 1996, whichever occurs first.